Illegal Music Pack Uploads and You

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Revision as of 02:22, 1 June 2011 by Omeletted(talk | contribs)(Created page with "Sumarry: Be careful with music pack uploads! Many are illegal and can get you in trouble or banned. There are various reasons to this and all are legitimate. Read this in its ent...")

Sumarry: Be careful with music pack uploads! Many are illegal and can get you in trouble or banned. There are various reasons to this and all are legitimate. Read this in its entirety to find ways of avoiding getting in trouble with illegal music pack uploads, commonly uploaded illegal music packs, and how to ensure your upload is legal, plus pointers for anyone even thinking about music packs! ~Sumarry advice from Matoyak

Introduction: Hello there fellow members of this grand community! I have been with the Nexus now for many a year, and throughout my time here at the Nexus I have seen many music packs. Some legal, some questionable, most illegal. And throughout that time I have seen many people with great modding potential hit with the ban hammer because they uploaded illegal content without even realizing it. So this is why I am posting this now, to warn everyone of the dangers, and to help uploaders tell if their music pack they intend to share is illegal or not.

I will cover many grounds here with this post, and if you feel I did not cover something feel free to reply and if it's pertaining to this subject matter enough and good advice, I will add it to this list. Here is an overview of what I will be covering.

What are Music Packs?

Music packs are .mp3 format music files renamed to the original default oblivion music and placed in folders identical to that of oblivions music.

How do they work?

They work because the renaming of the music file and folders their contained in to be identical to that of Oblivions original music folders the game will play them instead. This is because the game is not told to use only THOSE perticular music, but rather being told to play the music with the specific name in the specific folder. Simply replacing them replaces the music.

Why are some illegal?

Because, quite simply, they have copyrights. Copyrights forbid the redistribution of the item and or data that holds the copyright. This is how artists make their money, this is the reason people such as Green Day, ICP, Gorillaz, and so on make their money. With copyrights. If there were no copyrights then they would only be able to sell their music one time to one person, whom would upload it to the internet, and EVERYONE would download it for free because there isn't a copyright. Those artists would never make money, and would quite the business.

A Contribution from BBen46 in comments.

Remixing does not get around a copyright. There have been sucessful copyright suits based on being able to recognize just a few bars of the music.

Then listen to George Harrison's 'My Sweet Lord' and the Chiffon's 'He's So Fine' and see if you believe there was any infringement. The lyrics are totally different, the style is totally different and to my ear they are not the same.

From the article: George Harrison was found guilty of �subconscious plagiarism� and a judgment was filed against him in the amount of $587,000.00 of which the full amount was paid and the judgment dismissed in 1981.

A list of commonly uploaded illegal music packs

This is a list of commonly uploaded illegal music packs that get taken down. If you are thinking of uploading a music pack and its on this list you can be assured its illegal no matter what.

Final Fantasy VII (or any final fantasy for that matter)

Fable (1 and 2)

Gothic (1, 2 and 3)

Lord of the Rings (Movie or game, 1, 2 and 3)

Harry Potter

Resident Evil

Ico

Guild Wars

DDO

The Sims

Any and all bands, singers, titled composers, games and movies or tv shows.

This is all I can come up with at the top of my head. Will update when i think of more or if people give good replied additions.

I want to upload a music pack. How can I tell if it's illegal?

Research! Google, wikipedia, ask.com, or best yet, the forums and a PM to a moderator. If it comes from a game, from TV show, a movie, a band, a CD that you bought, chances are, it's illegal. If in any part of a movie or game or whatever you see a "Copyright" or "all rights reserved" chances are again, its illegal. Check to make sure, ask around, if it turns out to be okay, then go ahead and upload! But PLEASE link any and all websites stating how you came to know it is legal, or simply state which moderator said it was. This makes it easy for other moderators questioning its legality to check and make sure that permission is given.

I don't care about the rules - What can happen to you!

First and foremost, your file will be taken down. You will either be given a strike against your name, or banned for uploading illegal content, also known as online Piracy. Things can and do and will happen! The following are words to live by that are common phrases:

Ignorance does not mean innocense.

Watch your back

If it feels wrong, chances are, it is.

Don't get yourself in trouble because of a misunderstanding or because you "didn't know".

How illegal music packs harm the Nexus

This doesn't stop just at music packs, it is for everything illegal. If the Nexus becomes lax on these rules of Piracy many things can happen. Legal ramifications could be had for Dark0ne, who hosts this site, if he happens to be hosting a site with illegal content. Advertisement companies will stop doing business with him to avoid the apperance of being associated with criminal activity. Fines in large sums could be given to Dark0ne, that could force him to take down the site, and or, the authorities in reality will step in and stuff can go down, as they say. One person can potentially destroy this community, this is why pirates, illegal content, and other illegal activity are HARSHLY punished. Not only to make an example of, but to ensure that everyone knows it will absalutely not be tolerated and chances will not be taken!

Not all music packs are illegal!

Do not be discouraged! Not all music packs are illegal. There are plenty of music files out there that are 100% legal for redistribution, or specifically made for public use free of charge. Very old composers in which do not currently hold a copyright by any company are also legal, depending on who, what, where and of course why. There are variables to everyone, and generally it is not that hard to find out if something holds a copyright. Some things do hold copyrights that only extend to the original authors name being attached to it to prevent fraud rather than distribution. If this is so it will be plainly stated.

A list of uploaded LEGAL music packs

Here is a list of legally uploaded music packs here at the nexus, for those of you who either want an example, or are just interested in obtaining a new music pack legally. There are MANY of them, this is just what was found on the first page!

1st extra mp3 music pack Battle music

Additional Music_1 by EvilBlueKoala

4th extra mp3 music pack Public music

Adam Frechette MP3 Music Compilation

Additional Battle Music Track

Additional Music Pack

Additional Music Track

Additional Music _2 By EvilBlueKoala

3rd extra mp3 music pack Explore music

How to tell if a music pack is illegal using common sense

I've said it before and I'll say it again! I can not stress this enough. If you can find it in a game, in a movie, in a TV show, in a CD, on the radio or from a band, it is more than likely illegal! If its a major name that everyone knows of from some popular hit that doing anything at all that requires money in order to hear it it's probably illegal! Now there are free to download musics out there that are perfectly legal, that doesn't give you an excuse to upload all of Britney Spears because you "found a free download link." If you think it's illegal, it probably is. If you think it's illegal but find it on some other TES mod hosting website, ITS STILL PROBABLY ILLEGAL. Just because "they have it" doesn't mean "you can." Use common sense. Playing ignorance only makes you look like you have no idea whats going on in the world outside your computer room. Don't play dumb, because again, "Ignorance does not mean innocense."

Conclusion

Please do not get yourself caught up in a situation with an illegal music pack! Too many have been banned for it yet each and everyone of them deserved it for uploading in the first place. There is NO excuse for getting your feelings hurt if you get banned or in trouble or someone tries to warn you about it after you do it because there is NO excuse for uploading illegal files!

Now, I am not saying everyone out there is stupid, or a criminal, or someone that will upload illegally, I am simply saying BE WARNED! BE CAREFUL! USE the brain that God gave you. He made it very well and presented it to you with a full hard drive chalk full of data labeled "Common Sense".

Thanks for reading, and again, if you have any more useful information I did not state in the above please feel free to post in a reply and I will edit it right up there and thank you for the contribution!